As per the title, the only options anymore are pretty much that. PG pads are like $1000 each in some places, and ddrgame pads are of questionable quality.

Sorry all. Looks like until this wave resurfaces we're stuck on our own.

Alrighty, so we've been seeing pad manufacturers going down the sink for the past year or so, and there's almost no information out there anymore as to what pads are decent and which ones you can get. And what information there is around is so out of date it almost might as well not be there at all.

Redoctane is defunct, and Bluesharks flagship arcade pad stopped swimming and died. The only place to find these ones nowadays is on Ebay or craigslist.

So, I thought we would work out which current ones are decent and which ones are fluffy puppy dog balls.

Obviously the main contenders with respect to hard pads are going to be DDR game's Ion and TX pads, Cobalt flux, and Positive Gaming's Impact pad.

These pads are reputed to be not as 'arcade accurate' as other pads, with fairly large panels and not much flex to them. They have a decent response and are heavy duty as all freaking hell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIIDhudhDfs&t=0m53s
Although admittedly it doesn't show the pad actually working, one can only assume it does. If nothing else, the build material is pretty damn durable.

Cobalt flux is now dead, the only options for hardpads are build your own or buy from ddrgame, who make pads that just aren't that fantastic.

Cobalt Flux standard kit - Apparently is now compatible with PS3 and Wii in addition to PS2, PC and (seperately) Xbox,.

Since blueshark's arcade platform died, these have been considered the be all end all pad, but also are apparently prone to sensitivity issues at times due to shoddy wiring, particularly on more recent models. With a few modifications it seems an easy problem to rectify, but one would consider this to not really be necessary at the price point.
Some users are also reporting breakdowns in the baseboards of the pads, snapping or warping through heavy use. Still, they do seem to be the best pads available without a bar.
Alternatively, you can ask about their higher tier pads which are yet more expensive, but built to an apparently much higher standard nowadays.

While they do not offer the arcade platforms anymore, Mymybox still list some hard pads on their site, foundhttp://www.mymybox.com/ddrmedapa.html
The price is on par with what an Afterburner used to be, so the assumption would be that the build quality is of a similar standard.
Unfortunately, they only offer local pickup on their Nexen pads.

http://www.ddrgame.com/metalpads.html
DDR game's metal pads - not sure on these. Could use some details here people. As I understand it some of them have welding and wiring issues, but I have also heard some rather good things about them more recently.

As stated a few posts down, their quality is apparently getting better. Still seems like the main issues are with occasional weak weld joints, but considering the price and ease of purchase, they're looking like quite a viable option for players.

Onto foam and softpads -

Another grey area, since even the redoctane ignition was apparently a hit or a miss in later days.

Positive gaming's entry into the field is a simple and apparently durable softpad, which appears to have taken from foam pads the idea of raised step panels to increase response and the user's sense of placement, similar to the ignition pads.

http://www.mymybox.com/ddrmbsdx2.html
Mymybox's blueshark foam pad -
Still in production, featuring 'mega dense foam, ultra responsive and no lag' according to ZIV users. It handles Expert, keeping up with songs +200bpm with 16th notes. The name is the only thing that glows in the dark on it though.

While they're not of the most fantastic quality, they are cheap enough to be afforded by the masses. The expected life of these pads could be said to be a year, give or take, but could be faulty right from the off.
Some users suggest that the foam isn't as dense as they would like, and if you have any dense foam from other pads it might be an idea to replace or combine the pre-existing foam with denser foam.

So what do you guys think? Any information on pads that you use/d or own?

DDR Game's entries - http://www.ddrgame.com/softpads.html
Not sure about any specific models, since I haven't actually USED a foam pad before. I went from konami's soft pad straight to a home built one.

So what do you guys think? Any information on pads that you use/d or own?

Foam Pads are much nicer than plain soft pads but they aren't built any better, expect failure in 1-3 months of heavy use and expect alot of sliding during game play. From my experience all foam pads are built the same.

Foam Pads are much nicer than plain soft pads but they aren't built any better, expect failure in 1-3 months of heavy use and expect alot of sliding during game play. From my experience all foam pads are built the same.

The wiring and trigger mechanisms are all the same, but the build quality can make a huge difference. If you ever find a foam pad which comes apart, and has large foam panels inserted inside it (Afterburner Ignition / Logic Pro Dance Mat), then buy-buy-buy, before they become completely extinct.

Both those pads (and probably others that bother to copy the idea) are fairly durable, and make the game so easy that you'll be able to pass (and therefore learn) songs months before you're able to pass them in the arcade.

But isn't the point to show it's still FUNCTIONAL after being run-over? Why didn't someone get on the pad after that huge truck and show it still worked (if it ever worked, may have been a fake, I would have expected the plastic to have bent).

Well yes, but 1- they'll prove useful for ripping apart to make control boxes from and 2- we need slightly more detailed info than that.
Surely some of you have pads, what are they and what do you think of them? Where'd you get them?

I have 2 RedOctane Afterburner pads. I bought them off of guitarherostore.com which is currently closed down.
I've had these mats for over a year, and one of them has cracked panels which I am trying to fix by adding Lexan overtop of the plexiglass to protect them and make the mats less recessed. (They are a little more recessed then the arcade).

I need to get some sheet metal to tape over the foil so my mat won't overheat because my down arrow tends to stop working sometimes and I am guessing it's from overheating.

Dr. D I've seen DDRConquistador on YouTube and he has an iON, but I noticed it isn't as durable because he doesn't play anything higher then an ITG 10 on YouTube. I may be wrong, maybe he can't pass anything higher, but I've also heard those mats from DDRGame.com are bad quality.

na not overheating. Will be an issue with a wire being lose or broken, foam becoming degraded or static build up/frying control box.

To be honest, for the price of the Ion pads you could probably check out a home built pad, or even pay someone to make one. The build quality doesn't look that fantastic, so if you DID get one it might end up needing repairs or mods if you start playing lots of hard songs on it.

I've actually been using the DDR Game foam insert pads but I have switched out the hard foam inserts with 1 ignition foam pad set and 1 from another good ddr pad (forgot the name, I remember there was a "pink sparkle" edition of the same pad, lasted a while).

I bought 2 just in case one broke but I eventually started to play on double.

I'm not the best player but I play on my stepmania a lot with both my pads (double, or i switch pads in single just to get a different view of the arrows). They're decent at best. The pad I had before was much better before it died (still don't remember the name, it was grey, had some flames on it, 2 arrows were orange, 2 were blue). The only good side to the DDR Game foam pads are that they are cheap, but you get what you pay for so I invested in hard foam inserts to put them to good use.

Its been about a year now, the pads are both dying and I have to stomp pretty hard to get them to respond. Also, one of the pads is pretty defective, even from the beginning when I first got it. When you simultaneously hit arrows back and forth for a song like Horatio or AM-3P chaos special, it didn't respond at all and you'd fail immediately. My other pad however, was just fine and works like a charm.

I suspect the DDR Game pads are a hit and miss because they're so cheaply made. Oh and my wires are popping out of the pads and I have taped them back in numerous times.

Hope this helps. If you already have hard foam inserts then these pads are a cheap replacement. Just swap out the crap foam they come with with hard dense foam and you're good to go.

But if you don't have any yet, I suggest finding a pad that has dense foam in it already so you don't have to spend extra money to buy it.

Random question too, has anyone tried the Hard foam Blue Shark DDR pad?? I don't know if they still make it, but i remember seeing it and that it could glow in the dark or something.

I have the Blueshark soft pad. They still make em and it's treated me really well. Mega dense foam, ultra responsive and no lag. It handles Horatio Expert really well as well as keeping up with songs +200bpm with 16th notes. The name is the only thing that glows in the dark on it though.

For some pads, the more expensive ps3 converters do work, but apparently only with the earlier models (with the 4 usb ports I believe)

However for the most part, you're stuck unless you can wire it to another sort of controller.

As for the ps3 pad, like the universe pad, it is treated like a joystick on a pc so can't be used for stepmania properly.
You could however mod your homepad setup to use it on the ps3, but that requires ripping apart your ps3 pad.

The DDRGame pads that the school has gotten in 2007 are now starting to show their age. I don't know if they were the cheap metal pads, since I couldn't tell where I was hitting. After leaving the lock-in in 2011, the bar has shattered to a few pieces.

Now I might know that this company may have gotten better since 2007, but I might have to consider other options for pad replacement before this October. I may look into Cobalt Flux.